3,095 permits to be issued for this year's hunt

Tens of thousands of people are vying for a chance to hunt Maine moose this year.

Maine's annual moose permit lottery drawing is being held at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Maine in Presque Isle.

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says that 3,095 permits will be handed out this year. Ten percent of those will go to nonresidents. More than 53,500 people applied for a permit, including more than 15,000 nonresidents.

The number of available permits was reduced from 4,085 because of the impact on the moose population of winter ticks.

Last year, Maine's moose hunters set a record for the second consecutive year with 2,971 moose taken out of 4,110 hunting permits.